Letters: August 2015


Clarifying the Issue

Clean, clear copy on the most relevant debate today for people with disabilities!

[“The Crisis in Home Care,” June 2015]. I’ve been saying all along that my ADAPT peeps got this one wrong.

Michigan’s legislature deemed it unlawful for our workers to not get overtime if they worked 40-plus hours way back in 2006! In our case, ADAPT is right that agencies have responded by capping hours at 40. I’m sure that’s what will happen everywhere if all the agencies involved don’t come together to raise the pot soon. This has undoubtedly necessitated the unwanted reconfiguration of some care plans and, to be honest, I’m sure some workers were unable to remain in the profession due to the cap. But those who really felt strongly that being a PCA was their calling — and teams of clients and aides who refused to be broken up — have found a way to work it out and remain together.

My aide works 49 hours for me, directly through Self Determination for 40 hours (at a higher rate than the agency pays), and through an agency for an additional nine hours. Another alternative, albeit inconvenient, is to have the aide work for two agencies. ADAPT got it wrong saying the sky is falling, but it’s also true that the DOL didn’t think this one through.
Clark Goodrich
Founder, Grand Rapids ADAPT

More Than We Can Pay
This article is a good analysis of the situation [“The Crisis in Home Care”]. I’m sure that nearly everyone who has to hire a PCA has had the experience of answering a call from a recently posted “Help Wanted” advertisement where the caller goes into a rant wondering how I have the unmitigated gall not to be paying $18-$20 per hour. I believe that a good caregiver is worth twice that — 10 times that — but I did not have that as a possibility to offer. Very few people ever would.
Lisa Stapp
Via Facebook

Don’t Want DOL Rule
My aides can work for two different agencies at once here in Minnesota. We are more fortunate in that PCA wages are higher here than some other states. I need 24-hour care. Staffing with the 40-hour rule made scheduling a nightmare. My aides want the 48-hour no overtime rule. If they don’t get 48 hours with me, they cut their hours here. They go work for clients at agency B, plus me. This makes staffing and back-up a nightmare. I have never been in a nursing home in my 34 years on a vent. That is not going to change, either. That is how this debate affects me.
Ines Gaudet
Via Facebook

Leave Us Alone!
Can someone better explain how this Home Care Rule, which will result in a general reduction of income for home care workers like me, produces a better and more “stable” work environment for us? Already most traditional home care agencies are capping work hours at 40 in anticipation of the rule change, and there’s nothing compelling them to do otherwise, even if more money is added to the pot (which will not likely happen in the long run given the reality that the majority of us are immigrant women of color with little political clout). Please find some other community to rescue! Keep your fair wage and let us earn a living wage.
Philip Zweig
Via Facebook

ABLE Act: A Good Thing
This type of legislation [“Why We Fight: The ABLE Act,” United Spinal section, June 2015] is extremely important to the disabled community. It is fantastic that the hard work of so many individuals and agencies managed to get it passed. Unfortunately, it is limited to folks who were disabled at or before the age of 26 and leaves millions of other individuals without the ability to save money to replace their worn-out wheelchair van or repair the leaking roof on their home. With the asset limit at $2,000 for Medicaid, the vast majority of disabled people are one problem away from ending up in an institution. Hopefully, the random choice of age to qualify may be reconsidered in the future.

Congratulations to all the young folks who can now save for college or to purchase a new home. It’s wonderful for families to know that down the long road of disability their aging children may be able to obtain needed equipment and technology to live a more comfortable life.
Thomas McNamara
Via newmobility.com

Real People, Real Magazine
I’ve been reading NM for more years than I can remember. Your covers and articles continue to be creative, honest, evocative and constant, realistic. We are real people with real disabilities and challenges that affect us physically, psychologically and spiritually. You offer amazing stories of recovery, struggle, survival, and our continuing fight to be seen as equal with accessibility everywhere. Please continue to inspire, inform and educate each of us!
Teddy Lilley
Brea, Ohio


Support New Mobility

Wait! Before you wander off to other parts of the internet, please consider supporting New Mobility. For more than three decades, New Mobility has published groundbreaking content for active wheelchair users. We share practical advice from wheelchair users across the country, review life-changing technology and demand equity in healthcare, travel and all facets of life. But none of this is cheap, easy or profitable. Your support helps us give wheelchair users the resources to build a fulfilling life.

donate today

Comments are closed.